南美洲尤其是亞馬遜河流域的很多傳統(tǒng)草藥被土著用來治療疾病，且藥用歷史悠久。隨著現(xiàn)代科學研究的發(fā)展與深入，該地區(qū)很多傳統(tǒng)草藥或作為食物補充劑，如瑪卡、雅貢；或被開發(fā)為功能性飲料，如瓜拉那豆、巴拉圭茶等；或者一些草藥（如貓爪藤、保哥果等）的有效成分在抗腫瘤研究中顯示出較強藥理活性。這些傳統(tǒng)草藥已贏得越來越多的國際市場關(guān)注。簡要介紹了部分南美洲常用草藥的民間用途、主要化學成分和藥理作用，以及目前開發(fā)情況，為進一步的研究開發(fā)提供參考。

For a long history, Amazon basin region use local herbs for healing purposes. With the development of the modern scientific research, more and more traditional herbs from South America are gaining global popularity. For example, Maca and Yacon were used as food supplements, Guarana and Mate were developed as an ingredient in energy drinks. And the main compounds of Cat’s claw and Pau d’Arco-Lapacho showed high potential on the antitumor aspects. The authors introduced briefly on folkloric medicinal herbs from South America here, in an effort to provide a clue for the modern research work.